Mui-interview of those days
Troublesome to be a Man
(Chinadaily Malaysia) March 9, 2001
Anita Mui, as a senior movie actress, didn't play any role in a movie for almost 3 years. Once she worked for a movie, then there was wide spread rumors, such as she could not get along with the other female actresses, or she was not happy that Sammi's part was more important than hers. Then it was said she and Sammi fought for singing the theme song. Mui Jei could not care less about all these rumors. These were not facts, why bothered to give explanation.
[Wu Yen] was the most recent movie of Mui Jei. But since the movie was shown in Hong Kong till now in Malaysia, Mui Jei never took part in any promotion work. Therefore it was said she was mad at Johnnie To Kei-Fung. With the arrangement by the Malaysian theaters, "Specialty Entertainment" had an interview with Mui Jei, talking about this movie. During the interview she also talked about her views about Sammi and Cecilia Cheung. Let's take a look if Mui Jei really had trouble with them.
We had a happy cooperation
With the present status of Mui Jei in the entertainment industry, she really doesn't have to fight with anyone. It is said that she is not on good term with Sammi, anyone with some sense would know that it is a promotion tactic for the movie.
Actually, from the beginning till the end, Anita Mui always chooses to be keep silent. Now [Wu Yen] is being played in Malaysia, Anita Mui first time talked about this movie. Also she mentioned that she worked happily with the other 2 actresses, and would continue to work with them.
[We got on very well. Maybe there were too much rumors that we didn't get on well, but hope you didn't believe that, it was just tactic for promotion. I think every time when there is a new movie being shown, such problem will appear.]
[Actually when I worked with Cecilia Cheung, I felt very intimate. Don't understand well? Maybe I had gone through the period of being new person, I understand all the difficult time of the showbiz.]
About Sammi, Mui Jei said: [She is relatively quiet. But after we knew each other better, it is fun to be with her, Cecilia is a little girl. Actually she is very true in personality. In the movie, we all felt happy , wishing we can work together again in the future!]
Mei Jei thinks that cooperation is required to make a film successful. She worked with Maggie Cheung and Michelle Yoeh before for a movie, but this time all 3 leading actresses were signers. Any difference? Very simple, [Just wants to attract audience from different levels.]
[Actually to disguise a male is very difficult, as after all we are girls. Sometimes when we were talking, our pitch would be higher for 3 to 4 keys, especially when screaming. The director would reminds us often: remember you are a man now, should not have such kind of voice. So the whole day we had to remind us that we were men, so even in real life we would think we were men.]
Mui Jei was so real when played the role of Chi Chuan Wong, we thought at first she must have done a lot of preparation work, but she said: [Sorry, I'm the type that never does any preparation work. The only preparation work I did was: the director told me I had to play the role of an emperor who flirted around, that is why people would feel that I was imitating the comedian styles of many senior performers such as Sun Ma C Tseng, Stephen Chow, Leung Sin Po. You might see shadows of them in me, but I didn't really try to copy any of them, This is what I called the preparation work lar!]
Wai Ka-fai is appreciated
Take a serious look, Chi Chuan Wong is really not a bad role, [When in trouble then Hai Yin Chun, no trouble then Chung Wu Yen], this is just the real nature of modern men. Mui Jei has her own point of view: [After accepted to play a role in this movie, it gave me the chance to research further into the world of men. It could be said that I got to understand men better! Actually under the design of the director and the script writer, the role of Chi Chuan Wong reflects the world of modern men. It is fun, because I have never think about man from that direction.]
Don't mistake that Mui Jei would love to be a man, as in the movie she was superior playing the emperor, in the contrary, [I feel man is very troublesome, worse to be an emperor, what 3000 beauties awaiting at the palace, I would not like to think about that, because I feel too troublesome.]
Since she had been working for [Wu Yen], there was rumors that she was not on good term with Johnny To Kei-fung. During the interview, though Mui Jei didn't really talk about her cooperation with To Kei-fung, she talked about the partnership of To Kei-fung and Wai Kar-far with high praise. Really a great cast.
At the same time, she has interest in Wai Kar-fai, she said: [I feel his melodrama is very good, if in future there is any change I'd like to work in his melodrama.]
做男人很麻煩
[中國報](馬來西亞) 2001年3月9日
在演藝圈算是前輩的梅艷芳，想不到整三年多沒拍電影,一拍就傳聞滿天飛，一下子說她和戲中兩位女角不和，一下子又說她不滿鄭秀文(Sammi)的戲份比她重，然後又說她和鄭秀文爭唱主題曲，對這些傳聞，梅姐才懶得理，既不是事實，也無謂多解釋了！
《鍾無艷》是梅姐的最新力作，可是電影從香港上畫到今日於大馬戲院播映，梅姐一直都未曾為電影作過任何宣傳，所以才會傳聞一直指她是氣導演杜琪峰，而《精品娛樂》在大馬嘉通院線的安排下，獲得梅姐對此片的訪談哦！期間，梅姐亦談及對鄭秀文及張柏芝的看法，大家不妨看看到底梅姐和她們是否真的有介蒂？
我們合作愉快
以今時今日梅姐在演藝圈的地位，她真的沒有必要去跟人家爭，說她和Sammi不和，明眼的人都知道這是電影宣傳的伎倆啦！
其實，由頭到尾，梅艷芳都採取默不作聲的態度，這次配合《鍾無艷》在大馬上映，梅艷芳終首度開腔談此片，更談到她與兩位女角合作得非常開心，還說要和她們再合作。
「我和她們都很好，可能之前傳了很多關於我們不和的新聞，但大家都不要信，這只不過是宣傳的手法，我想逢有電影上畫都會有這些問題出現。」
「其實面對張柏芝時，感覺很親切。不懂呢？可能自己都走過新人的時代啦，亦知道他們在樂壇的種種辛苦囉！」
至於鄭秀文，梅姐則表示：「她比較沉默，但熟絡了也很好玩，而張柏芝就比較小女孩。其實她是一個很真性情的女孩，在電影中，我們都很開心，希望將來還有機會再合作囉！」
梅姐認為，一部電影的成功，是需要大家全力合作，她也曾和張曼玉、楊紫瓊合作過一同拍戲，只不過這次不同的是，三個女主角都是真正歌手身份，有甚麼特別用處？很簡單嘛，「就是希望可以吸引到不同階層人士去欣賞囉！」
常提醒自己是男人
算算日子，梅姐也有三年多沒拍戲了，想不到一接新片就要她反串演個風流色情的皇帝，難免心裡會緊張，幸好《鍾無艷》是部喜劇，壓力才沒那麼大。
雖然拍喜劇片予人的感覺以求夠無厘頭、搞笑就行，但一向要求認真的梅姐，才不會隨便亂演交貨，反之要有特色給大家看，而她是做到了，看戲裡齊宣王猥瑣、怕死、好色衰樣，就該佩服梅姐爐火純青的演技。
梅姐說她喜歡這個角色，讓她有不同的演技發揮，何況梅姐一向就是喜歡不同難度的挑戰，尤其是在自己的演藝事業裡，這樣才會給人新鮮感
「其實反串演男人很難，始終我們都是女孩子，有時講話的聲音會很自然高三、四度，尤其是尖叫聲，導演就會常常對我說，你要記得你現在是個男人，不應該有這種聲音，變成整天都要提醒自己是個男人，所以有時在生活中也會以為自己做了男人。」
還以為，梅姐把齊宣王一角演得如肖如妙，一定事前做了很多準備功夫，誰知她說：「對不起，我是一個不做準備功夫的人，唯一做的準備功夫，就是導演有提過說想拍一些感覺有點猥瑣、風流的皇帝，所以感覺上我會抄很多前輩，像新馬師曾、周星馳、梁醒波搞笑演繹方式，我有很多影子在裡面，但沒有說真正去學誰，這就是我所謂的事前準備功夫啦！」
欣賞韋家輝
如果真正來看，齊宣王角色並不衰，「無事夏迎春，有事鍾無艷」，不過只是顯露現代男人的本性，這點梅姐亦有見解，「接演了這部戲後，讓可以探討到更多男人的世界，可以說對男人有更深入的了解囉！其實經過導演及編輯的設計下，齊宣王這個角色，很多是反映了現代社會男人的世界。我覺得蠻好玩，因為從來沒有用反方去想男人的心態。」
別以為梅姐在戲裡是萬人之上的九五之尊，一定會享受及愛上當男人，反之，「我覺得做男人很煩，還是個皇帝，甚麼後宮佳麗三千，我簡直是想都不會想，因為我覺得實在太煩了。」
自梅艷芳接拍《鍾無艷》後，一直都有傳聞指她不妥導演杜琪峰，這點，訪談中雖然梅姐並沒有明確說出她和杜導演的合作關係，但還是盛讚杜琪峰與韋家輝的拍檔組合，絕對是鑽石陣容。
同時，梅姐對另一導演韋家輝甚有興趣，「我覺得他的劇情片很好看，希望將來有機會可以正式和他合作拍部劇情片。」
整理：林美美